Happy Birthday song set for public domain after long feud
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Los Angeles
ONE of the world's most recognisable songs, Happy Birthday to You, looks finally set to be free for everyone to sing. After prolonged legal wrangling, US publisher Warner/Chappell Music agreed to pay US$14 million in a settlement that would end its claims to the song's copyright.
The dispute began in 2013 after filmmakers looking at the history of Happy Birthday to You baulked at the US$1,500 which the publisher demanded for the song's use. The filmmakers filed a class action suit on behalf of people who paid to use the song, which became popular in the United States a century ago and has since spread globally.
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